Otto Klemperer

"Poor Klemperer, he had such a tough time in Mexico. Contracted by a private management agency to conduct several orchestral  concerts at the Palace of Fine Arts, the principal concert hall of the city, he had offended Carlos Chavez, the acknowledged musical czar of Mexico; no musician was tolerated unless invited by him. Chavez had his methods of displaying displeasure -- penalizing his own musicians for joining another orchestra, or luring away key players for rehearsals. Klemperer, however, pitted his wits against Chavez' power: When his musicians found the stage door barred at the last rehearsal for the last concert, he ordered them to begin playing outdoors behind the Palace. Within minutes the doors opened, and the rehearsal continued on stage."

Around the World in 80 Years: A Memoir, Henrietta Yurchenco